What happened over the last few years is that new for-sale housing construction virtually ceased, which obviously killed new growth-dependent exurbs, while having little effect on established communities.

Once the for-sale market recovers, and new construction commences, I think we'll see a return to sprawltopia.

And people also have to remember that most jobs are in the suburbs now. Moving into the inner city could mean increased costs for gas, etc, as people would have to drive out to the outer suburbs for work.

Until the work situation is addressed as in more companies returning downtown and into the city, I don't think you will see mass movement towards the city, because at the end of the day the jobs are in the burbs now.

And people also have to remember that most jobs are in the suburbs now. Moving into the inner city could mean increased costs for gas, etc, as people would have to drive out to the outer suburbs for work.

Until the work situation is addressed as in more companies returning downtown and into the city, I don't think you will see mass movement towards the city, because at the end of the day the jobs are in the burbs now.

i think the majority of higher paying professional jobs will remain in the cities. money will further be concentrated in cities and lesser paying jobs will migrate outwards. might not be cost effective to maintain a call center in the city but probably is to leave the executives, accountants and legal staff downtown.

I think our downtown and core are fairly fortunate in that more jobs are finally moving in to those areas again and we have been seeing a steady uptick in new housing downtown as well. But the schools are still the Achillies Heel so to speak. There are lots of private schools in the core, but they are expensive and selective. Actually though one of the highest ranked schools in the region is near downtown, but its via lottery so living in the area is no guarantee of getting in. I think our best bet to help that situation would be for the city to create a charter school downtown, likely one centered on the Arts.

Ultimately though, I do not see the suburbs as not growing anymore. Especially here since our outer suburbs are still not that far out as compared to other cities and commute times average 15 minutes.

I guess it depends on how old your parents are/were. Many cities were in decline when our parents were living there after having boomed during in their parents day, which is different from what's taking place now.

In almost every major metro area, there is a lower percentage of the metro population living in the "core city" than there was 30 years ago. Even in the cities that were "in decline" 30 years ago, there were always nice/safe areas in which younger couples lived.

The population of Atlanta's 4 core counties increased 55,168 (up 29% from 2000-2010) while edge/exurban counties added 21,077 (down 63%) for the year 2010-2011...and the two central counties containing the city of Atlanta outpaced the two suburban core counties by 26%.

This is a huge turnaround for the city after years of exurban growth. Signs point toward continued growth in the core counties and city limits of Atlanta.

In almost every major metro area, there is a lower percentage of the metro population living in the "core city" than there was 30 years ago. Even in the cities that were "in decline" 30 years ago, there were always nice/safe areas in which younger couples lived.

Whether or not there's a higher percentage of people living in the suburbs, there's a difference in people's sentiments towards the city when there's crackheads all over the place, terrible crime, and people are fleeing as fast as they can.

The fact is, there are more places that are considered nice/safe in many cities, particularly on the east coast of the US, now compared to 30 years ago. And the novelty of living in a brand-spanking new house in an idyllic neighborhood for relatively cheap only a few minutes outside of the city is gone. The cities will probably decline again at some point, but you can't say that every generation is the same. Many people are going to leave the cities when they have families, but I don't think it's going to be what it was like from the 60s-90s again in the near future.

The future of exurbs will vary, depending on the region of the country.
Exurban growth may have a future of growth in the South and smaller midwest metros, but that's about it.

All the cities need is improved public schools, transit and game over for the burbs.

There are a few urban inner suburbs already on the front line of this trend;
Hoboken, Evanston and Arlington come to mind..

One odity is Detroit. With the rate of depopulation by the poor, in ten years, the upper middle class(of any race) could easily take that city back. Then again, I forgot about Detroit's stellar transit system.